Grace cracked a smile. “You never even met Lucy.”
“And that matters?” Palmer paused to kick off her flip-flops as they rounded the last corner and emerged onto the fine golden sand of the secluded beach. “She hurt you, and you’re my friend, thus by the laws of polite society, I get to call her a bitch. But, I am sorry. It’s his loss.”
Grace shrugged. “There was never anything to lose,” she said, not able to hide the wistful note in her voice. She shook her head quickly; this wasn’t the day for pining, not with two flavors of cake and a vast array of fresh-squeezed juices to enjoy. “Come on, I need to set this box down before something breaks!”
They basked for hours in the afternoon sun: making toasts, and tossing Frisbees, and eating more cake than Grace thought possible. Her mom wandered off with her paint set to capture the “magnificence of nature, unkempt”; Amber slathered on her sunscreen; and Auggie slept blissfully under the shade of his half-read book.
Grace relaxed, her eyes closed and toes buried in the sun-warmed sand. She could hear the steady roll of the ocean, and Hallie’s cries of protest as she lost her game of boccie to Brandon; Auggie’s intermittent snores on her other side. A wash of contentment slipped over her; an even, steady calm.
This was it, she realized. Home. Her family. The world that had splintered into so many new directions had reformed into something bright and enduring. Her year of pained, fearful change was done.
She didn’t have to worry anymore.
“Grace!” A boccie ball thudded against her foot, and Grace sat up to find Hallie waving to her from the water’s edge. “Come, swim!”
“No, thanks!” Grace called back. Palmer and Brandon were already splashing in the shallows, their laughter carrying on the breeze. “You guys go ahead!”
But Hallie didn’t. Instead, she jogged over and pulled Grace to her feet. “Come on!”
“But it’s cold!” Grace protested. “And your hair —”
“You’ve got to stop this watching from the sidelines,” Hallie told her. “It’s your birthday! You’ve got to do something!”
Grace hesitated. But Hallie was right. In one swift move, Grace stripped off the sundress covering her bikini and raced toward the water, shrieking as the cold waves broke around her legs. But it was too late to back out; Grace plunged on, until her whole body was submerged.
“See!” Hallie laughed, treading water beside her in the shallows. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”
Grace grinned. It was. Behind them, the lagoons nestled beneath the hills; the whole coastline stretching in a haze of golden sand and blue, blue water. She swam lazily, flipping onto her back as Hallie let out a contented sigh.
“Every time I’m out here, I feel like . . . I don’t know, like there’s something bigger.” Hallie looked over at Grace, her expression thoughtful. “Maybe we could come out again next month. For Dad.”
“Sure. I mean, if you want. I didn’t think you’d want to do anything.” It would be the anniversary of their father’s death — a day Grace wished she didn’t have to mark, but knew she must, all the same.
“Sarabeth says I need rituals, to help the grieving process,” Hallie explained.
Sarabeth was Hallie’s new therapist. Grace still couldn’t believe her sister was going to therapy at all, let alone talking about their father, but it seemed to be helping. Her tantrums and crying jags had dwindled, and now, Grace could even have a reasoned argument over who got control of the remote without Hallie storming off and slamming doors.
“You don’t have to come,” Hallie said quickly. “I mean, if you want time to remember him alone.”
“No.” Grace gave her a small smile. “That sounds nice. We’ll do it together.”
They drifted there awhile longer, until their fingertips puckered and the cold was finally too much. Palmer met them on the shore with a hopeful look. “Want to go get gelato?”
Grace groaned. “Are you crazy? I can barely even float, I ate so much.”
Hallie brightened. “Wait, is this the place across the street?” Palmer nodded. “Oh, we have to go. This place is, like, the best in the whole world!”
“So . . . full . . .” Grace murmured.
“It melts into liquid,” Palmer protested as they arrived back at their camp. “It’s like having a drink of water.”
“See?” Hallie agreed. “Science!”
“Oh, my God!”
They all looked up at Amber’s cry. She was clutching her cell phone, eyes wide with shock. “I don’t believe it! Oh, Grace!”
“What’s happened?” Grace asked. “Is everything OK?”
“No!” Amber cried. “Missy just texted. That Lucy girl, her old nanny, she’s run off to Vegas. Eloped! With Theo!”
They all gasped.
Grace felt faint. Her legs seemed to fold under of their own accord, depositing her onto the blanket with a thump.
“That’s crazy, she must have it wrong.” Palmer quickly sat next to her, voice full of scorn. Hallie agreed, squeezing Grace’s shoulder.
Grace gulped. “She said they were in love,” she offered, feeling a terrible ache. Of course Theo hadn’t called — not when he was off getting married. Married! At nineteen! He must really be in love with her.
“Uh-huh.” Hallie pulled out her cell phone and began typing. “I don’t believe it. Even Theo isn’t stupid enough to do something like that.”
“Check his profile,” Palmer suggested.
“Already there.” Hallie clicked onscreen. “Ha! See? Status: single.” She held it up as evidence.
But Grace wasn’t going to cling to false hope. “He wouldn’t have time to change it,” she said, miserable. In an instant, all her happiness and contentment had been ripped away, and by what? Confirmation of something she’d known for months already. It was foolish. “He’s probably been too busy dealing with wedding stuff, and the honeymoon . . .”
Oh, God. Grace wasn’t even going to go there.
Hallie kept clicking. “No, don’t give me that face. You don’t get to cry until there’s absolute proof that —” She stopped, and let out a cackle of laughter. “There!” Hallie shoved her cell phone in Grace’s face. “Told you!”
Grace blinked at the screen. It was Hallie’s newsfeed, full of updates from her friends and family. “What? I don’t see it.”